effective organisational structure

Multi-age follows the philosophy that multi-aging is the most effective organisational structure to meet the needs of individual children and it is a dynamic social and learning community.

The goal of multi-age classrooms is to use teaching practices that maximize the benefits of interaction and cooperation among children through whole and small group instruction and independent learning. Children in multi-age groupings are expected to vary in experience, maturity, and ability.

Victorian Essential Learning Standard

Within the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) Framework, the basis for curriculum planning and reporting student achievement, teachers at Eltham Primary will be able to utilise their collective talent and skills to cater for the individual learning needs of children and successfully plan together in the level team.

Some benefits of multi-age class structures are:

1. Teaches to the individual child – multi-age teaching forces teachers to look at individual needs of students and differentiate instruction and hence, students can work at their own level and pace.

2. Provides leadership and mentoring opportunities – children learn to work together cooperatively and have the opportunity to work with children at different levels to their own. It has been suggested in the literature that learners grow substantially when interacting with those who are just beyond them in terms of development (Vygotsky, 1978).
3. Celebrates diversity – reflect real world diversity where people are not divided by age.
4. Meets the needs of all students – helps avoid retention in the classroom and provides both challenges and remediation.
5. Reflects the way children learn – students are accepted at their current state of development and this contributes positively to the strong social development needs of our students, providing greater opportunities for children to develop skills in leadership, social competencies and enhanced self-esteem.
6. Requires the use of other effective teaching practices – both hands-on learning and cooperative learning are initiated in multi-age classrooms so students can work together to solve problems and engage in authentic learning experiences.
7. Allows for longer time periods with individual students – teachers develop a thorough knowledge of their students and children also develop ongoing friendships within and across class groups in their year level.
8. Continuing lifelong nature of learning is emphasised – contrasts to the year-long learning implied by traditional ‘grade’ structures.

At Eltham Primary, we strive continuously to achieve common goals in pursuit of our vision to provide  educational learning experiences which allow each student to attain their full potential.